The Brightest Star
by ZeroFaced
Summary: He loved her with all his heart. She'd give everything for him. Yet their love couldnt never be. Will they find their place together? Nuka/OC *Inspired by DinoHorse and his/her soty; His mistake*


"Look at the stars son. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. So will I"

~ Mufasa

…

It wasn't a good period for Pridelands. Scar was king and the hyenas lived free in his lands. The lionesses were forced to hunt for all and any male cub was banished from their lands. Those were the rules for Scar's kingdom. The only male lion living in the pride, apart from him, has his son, a young teenager with the same fair and mane as his. But he wasn't his heir. Scar never liked him, he was only a mistake. He was too weak to become king, too soft to rule properly. Nuka was only allowed to remain in the pride because he couldn't possibly be a threat to Scar's throne. Zira, Nuka's mother and Scar's mate, convinced him to train Vitani, their daughter, to become queen one day. Scar agreed, seeing his daughter's will and strength. But that only made Nuka invisible to his eyes. The rarely spoke but Nuka didn't mind. He never liked his father much. He used to spend time with the lionesses and had made himself a close friend named Valina. She was the most beautiful lioness he had ever seen. She was the only one who seemed to care for him and wanted to ask her to become her mate, but Scar wouldn't allow that. Nuka was weak but Valina was a strong and smart lioness. If they had a male cub together she'd train it to overcome Scar and steal his throne. As Nuka's son, that cub would have a right to step on his throne and the pride would be at his side. He couldn't risk those two having that cub. So he had forbidden him from seeing her. Of course, Nuka managed to steal some hours daily to spend time with his loved one at the waterhole. Those were some of those hours;

He and Valina were lying next to each other, at the edge of the lake, watching their reflections at the clear water. Valina's white fair looked bright as the sun, while her eyes had the same color as the water. Nuka loved watching her reflection. She looked like an angel with her soft voice and kind smile. He loved that smile; he wouldn't be able to live without it. He looked at her and kindly cuddled her. She smiled in the way he loved.

"We should be going back" she said. Nuka signed disappointed and she giggled. "I'm sure things will be easier someday, maybe when your sister takes the throne, but for now we must be distinctive" She said and licked his cheek softly "we'll meet again here tomorrow" she whispered.  
>"I'll be waiting for that" he smiled and she stood up. "I'll see you later" she said and blinked. Nuka nodded and she walked away.<p>

He waited for some time to pass before heading back to Pride Rock. He met his sister waiting for him. "You promised" she said faking anger.

Nuka snapped out of his thoughts "What?" he asked confused. Vitani giggled "You said you'll take me to the elephant graveyard today, you forgot again? She must be nice" she said and nodded to a small group of lionesses where Valina was sitting.

"I don't know what you mean but it is not true" quickly protested Nuka. Vitani laughed loud "Don't worry silly, I'm not going to tell on you" she said and blinked. "I like her; she plays with me and hides me from my boring lessons"

"You must not avoid your lessons Vitani" tried to scold her Nuka pretending to be their mother. They both started laughing.

"What is so funny?" asked Scar as he walked towards them. "Um nothing daddy" said Vitani and giggled guilty. Scar looked at her and knew she was hiding something. "You are late for your lesson, your mother is waiting" he said and Vitani immediately left to find Zira. Scar looked at his son "my king" said Nuka and lowered his head. Scar nodded and Nuka headed to the lionesses group. He sat away from Valina but he couldn't help smiling at her. Scar noticed. It seemed his son didn't obey his orders and he had to do something about it.

The next morning Nuka headed to the waterhole excited for his meeting with Valina. He wanted to ask her something very important. He though they could escape the pride lands and together start a pride of their own. They could return someday when Scar would be gone. He arrived and happily called her name but no answer came.

"Val?" he asked again and laughter came from behind him. He turned around and watched his father sitting under a rock.

"She is not here" he said. Nuka froze. He wanted to ask where she was, he wanted to excuse himself, he wanted to run away, but he just stood there looking at his father's face in fear.

He watched Vitani sitting next to him with a sad face and scars in her body. Scar followed his son's look "A fine future Queen must protect her kingdom and have no secrets from her father" he said and Vitani sniffed.

"You know the consequences for disobeying your king" he said and stood up. "Come to my den when the sun falls" he said "Don't think about running away cause your girlfriend will pay the price" he said and left. Vitani followed by dragging her feet and whispering "I'm so sorry" to her brother.

Nuka returned to Pride Rock and saw Valina talking to some hyenas to let her pass. When she saw him she said without a sound "they wouldn't let me leave" but Nuka didn't answer. "Are you okay?" she asked again silently. Nuka dragged his feet into the pride's den and waited for sunset.

"You disobeyed me" said Scar when Nuka entered his den. "But I'm feeling rather generous today. So here what I propose; you will abandon that lioness. You will tell her she was nothing but a way to pass your time and that you love Hilda" at that time a lioness with dark fair and eyes sat next to Scar and nodded "She is very loyal to me and the perfect mother for my heir" Nuka looked confused at his father. "Zira isn't capable of carrying any more cubs and since Vitani has proven her self to be unworthy, you will have to give me an heir" he explained "My blood runs in you and it will pass on in your son. When he is born I will train him to follow my footsteps and become king. I will not exile your girlfriend but if I ever catch you talking to her – and trust me I'll catch you if you do it- the consequences will be death for her and you will be exiled for ever. Are we clear? " He asked without really expecting an answer. "You can go now. Exit with Hilda and try to look happy. By tomorrow morning you must have tell your girlfriend you leave her. Go!" he said and showed them the exit.

Nuka nodded _"If I don't do it he will kill her"_ he thought. He felt his heart breaking into thousands of small pieces. He signed and followed Hilda outside. His mother, Zira, was sitting outside of the den, cleaning her daughter from the blood of her wounds. She looked angrily at Nuka "It's your fault!" she said without a sound" He lowered his head and kept moving. They reached the place where the lionesses where gathered together and Hilda said louder than necessary "Thank you for walking with me Nuka" and licked his cheek. Nuka looked straight at Valina who turned her head in confusion. Hilda sat next to her and smiled "Isn't he great?" Valina nodded still looking at Nuka. Nala called him "Hey Nuka, come sit with us" "I'd rather not, I'm tired" he responded and went to the den to sleep.

This was going to be his harder night. How could she tell her she was nothing but a game? How can he show no emotion if she cries? How can he pretend to love another when his heart beats only for her? But he had to do it, it was for her best. By hurting her he could save her life. He'd do everything so that she'd be ok, even hurt her.

The morning came. Nuka hadn't slept at all that night. He looked at the sun burning bright and sighed. He hoped what happened last night was a dream but the meaningful look of Hilda from the other side of the cave reminded him. He stood up weakly and headed to the waterhole for his last meeting with the love of his life.

She was waiting for her. She was chewing a half eaten bone of an antelope. When she saw Nuka she happily stood up and run to him. "I was just about to leave" she said as she cuddled him. Nuka pushed her away. "What is wrong?" she asked confused. He looked at her and said without any emotion;

"I don't want to do that anymore" Valina looked at him confused "do what?" she asked but she feared she knew the answer.

"We had our fun but that's all" said Nuka still emotionless "I finally found what I was looking for and it is time to end our little game"

"We had our fun?" she repeated in disbelief "What happened, Nuka, you can tell me" she begged him.

"What happened is that I got bored of you. I told you, we had some fun but since you were unwilling to take it farther I found someone who wasn't"

"Unwilling? How could that happen when nobody even knew about us?" she asked with tears forming in her eyes. He looked away

"There is no *us*. You meant nothing for me; I was just trying to make Hilda jealous"

"That is not true…" she said, more to herself than to him. "I know its not true Nuka. I know you love me" It was time to do it. He had to. "I never loved you" he said and looked in her eyes" His eyes were dark and empty "and I will never love you. You are nothing for me and never will. I used you to win her, she is the love of my life not you. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore"

"I see" she trembled, trying to hold her tears "I-I hope she gives you what you need, Nuka"

He didn't answer. He watched her running away. He wanted to catch her, tell her he had to leave her to save her life. When she was out of sight, he fell on his knees and let out his tears. He cried all day long and when the sun set, he wore his happy mask and headed back to PrideRock.

She wasn't with the other lionesses. He was glad for that. He couldn't possibly look at her now. He sat next to Hilda and she cuddled him so that everyone could see. The lionesses looked confused but nobody said anything. Only Nala asked "Since when are you two together?" "It's been a long" answered Hilda "We just needed the king's permission to make our relationship official" Nuka nodded but he thoughts were at Valina. He imagined their meetings a few days ago when she used to lay her head on his back. He loved that. Now he had to pretend he is happy with a lioness he barely knew. "That's…nice" said Nala suspicious. "Hey Nuka, have you seen Val today?" she asked. Nuka only heard her name "what?" he asked quickly. "I say, I haven't see Valina today, have you?" Hilda answered again "He was with me all day" "aha" said Nala and stood up. "I'm going to sleep, goodnight all" "Bye Nala" "Sweet dreams" said the lionesses "Don't oversleep tomorrow honey" said her mother and cuddled her.

Nala didn't go to their den to sleep; instead she went at a small cave at the back side of Pride rock, only known to Scar, her and Valina. She went inside and found Valina lying at a corner. Her eyes were closed and it seemed she had cried a lot that day. "Val?" asked Nala confused "Are you alright?" Valina looked up to her friend and wiped her eyes using her paw "sure" she said but her voice broke and she begun crying again. "Sweety, what happened?" asked Nala and cuddled her. She sat next to her and put her head between her paws "It is about Nuka, isn't it?" she said and licked Valina's head.

"He just left me" said Valina. "He told me I was nothing but a way to pass his time, that it's her he always loved" she said between her tears.

"I don't believe that" tried to comfort her Nala. "Until yesterday he was fully in love with you, you could see it from miles away." "He pretended. He wanted to make Hilda jealous" said Valina and once again her voice broke. "He never loved me" "Hush Val. It is going to be alright" said Nala and stayed with her until she fell asleep. "I'll discover what happened" promised Nala.

Another morning had arrived. When Valina woke up she was alone in the small cave. She sighed and walked out. The sun was bright and she looked at it thinking _"the sun always rises" _

She joined the hunting group. Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala and a few other lionesses were gathered, talking about where they should hunt this day. Hilda and Nuka where also sitting amongst them. When Valina showed them together she tried her best not to fall down. Sarabi ordered the lionesses to move and they followed her orders. "Wish me luck dear" said Hilda and nuzzled Nuka. She then followed the rest lionesses, giving Valina a devious smile. Valina stared at Nuka for a moment. Nuka could see the sadness in her eyes and looked away. She left, following the group. Only Nala was left behind.

"I want to talk to you" she said to Nuka angrily.

"What for?" he asked.

"You don't love that lioness. She looks like a male with all that muscles and things" Nuka giggled a little but managed to hide it "I love her" he said but it was obvious he lied.

"I've seen you with her, she is the one you love not that hideous lioness you are wandering around with" said Nala, sure of herself.

"If I loved her, I'd be with her wouldn't I?" argued Nuka and started walking away. Nala followed him "Yes you would. Except if something or someone made you leave her" "Yes, my love for Hilda" he protested quickly. "There is no reason to do that, Nuka" she said now with a calmer voice. "I've seen how you look at Valina, you always turn around when her name is spoken. You always wait for her to come in our meetings before you join. What made you do that to her?" she asked.

"Leave me alone" was all Nuka said.

"When I tried to leave, Scar threatened to hurt my brother" admit Nala "he said that if I wanted to leave so badly, I didn't care for the family I'd leave behind. I wanted to find help so I escaped and he found me at the borders. He said my brother was gone and that if I left the same would happen to my mother" Nuka didn't know that. They were told Meethu got lost while playing. "I'm sorry" he said.

"Nuka if he is threatening you, you have to let her know, it's not fair to torture her like that" she tried to convince him. "I'm only trying to save her life" he finally admitted. "By destroying yours? Take her and leave Nuka. You have nothing to lose, only to gain" He walked away.

He had considered running away with her but was it true that he had nothing to lose? What about Vitani, Scar hurt her because of him, what would he do to her if they left? No, he had no choice. He had to stay with Hilda watching the only lioness he ever loved moving on with her life.

…

Months passed. Nuka kept his deal with his father and remained with Hilda. They had no cubs yet. Nuka begged his father to give him sometime to get over Valina and he agreed. But that time was running out. He had to give him an heir but Nuka still loved Valina. He never got over her though she seemed to have forgotten him. She never looked at him nor hunt in the same group he did. He started hunting with the lionesses so that he'd be able to see her at least from far. They all had grown and now were young adults. As tradition had it, it was the first official hunting for Valina. She used to hunt with the others because they needed a lot of food for the hyenas, but never had a leading role. This was her day.

"Good luck, my dear" said Sarafina and cuddled her. "You will be fine" said Sarabi. "I'm sure you will bring back the mightiest of pray" said Nala proudly "almost as good as mine was" Valina laughed "If I find something to kill, you bet I will" All the lionesses whished her luck and she was about to leave when Hilda and Nuka approached her. 'Good luck dear" said Hilda and cuddled her. Valina was surprised "Um, thank you" "I'm sure you will do fine, I betted Nuka you'll get an antelope. He said Zebra" she happily nuzzled her mate. "Is that so?" asked Valina with an eyebrow lifted. "Good luck Val" said Nuka softly. Anyone could recognize the caring tone in his voice but Hilda hid it by cheering loudly "Go Valina, we are with you. I hope my son will be as good in hunting as you" Valina faked a smile and left. "You better give me a son soon, I'm not going to do that for much longer" whispered Hilda to Nuka's ear. He didn't hear her, she watched Valina disappearing in the tall grass.

"He won't do it" she yelled to Scar "he can't get over her, I tried but he just won't." "Don't worry, my dear, we don't need him anymore" said Scar "they will think it's his cub anyway, so his part is over now"

…

Valina found a small group of antelopes, but she didn't felt like hunting those. She kept searching for a satisfying pray and a weird smell caught her attention. "Fire!" yelled some birds while flying over her head. "Fire?" repeated Valina and looked at the horizon. A bunch of animals were running towards her. She froze for a second and then started running.

Up at a rock, Hilda stood next to Scar "Part one, check. Bring him"

"It's been a while, she should have returned by now" said Nala worried. "What could possibly go wrong?" comforted her Sarafina "it is just hard to find a pray nowadays, that's all" "If Zazu hadn't left he could be watching over her" sighed Sarabi.

"Fire!" yelled Hilda as she appeared running. "Fire, she is trapped at the fire" she said frightened. "What who?" asked Nala worried. Nuka didn't have to hear the answer. He had already left to find her.

Valina tried to find her way back but the deep smoke didn't help. She could barely see and she started coughing badly. The flames were near her and she tried to escape but a burning tree fell in front of her. She took a few steps back and her right paw sucked in a hole created by another fallen tree. She tried to free her self but her powers left her. It was then she heard his voice "Val. Hold on" he saw his figure standing on a cliff, a few metres away. He jumped of that cliff and run through the flames until he reached her. He helped her free her paw and together they run out of the flames. She suddenly felt on the ground.

"Val?" screamed Nuka "Val please get up" she didn't move. Nuka's eyes filled with tears. "Val? Please…" she still didn't move. He laid next to her and rested his head on hers. "I'm so sorry" he whispered "I love you, I've always have" "I know" she said weakly.

Nuka smiled "I did it for you, I tried to save you. I think I'm just stupid" he said ironically.

"I know, Nala told me months ago"

"And you did nothing?" he asked

"I wanted you to be happy. Since we couldn't be together it was best to forget me and be happy with her"

"So we destroyed our lives because we tried to save one another huh?" they both giggled. The flames were getting closer to them and Valina coughed "You have to go before you get trapped here"

"I am exactly where I want to be" he replied softly and licked her ear "It's been my dream to be able to hold you for at least one more time"

"I'm glad I'll be with you in this" she said and touched his nose with hers. The flames were now around them and there was no way out.

"Did you know we become stars when we die?" she asked and looked at his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, Nala told me. She said all the great kings of the past look down on us. I'm sure you will be a star"

"Only if you'll be the one next to me" he said and cuddled her on last time. The flames covered their bodies. "You are the brightest star of my life" were his last words.

…

"Look Mum" said a young cub, "those two stars look like they are hugging each other"

"mmm, they must have been great friends"

"Vitani, Tani, come one lets go!" shouted a gold lion. "Coming, Kopa! Come on sweetheart, daddy wont wait for long"


End file.
